The God Particle: A Novel
byRichard Cox
Synopsis of The God Particle: A Novel
There is a divine spark within us all. In one man, that spark is about to explode.American businessman Steve Keeley is hurtled three stories to the cold cobblestone street in Zurich. In the days that follow, a doctor performs miraculous surgery on Keeley, who wakes up to find that everything about his world has changed. He seems to sense things before they happen, and he thinks he's capable of feats that are clearly impossible. It's a strange and compelling new world for him, one he quickly realizes is also incredibly dangerous.
Meanwhile at a $12 billion facility in hardscrabble North Texas, a super collider lies two hundred feet beneath the Earth's surface. Leading a team of scientists, Mike McNair, a brilliant physicist, works to uncover one of the universe's greatest secrets -- a theoretical particle that binds the universe together, often called The God Particle. When his efforts are undermined by the man who has poured his own vast fortune into the project, McNair begins to suspect that something in his research has gone very, very wrong.
Now, these two men are about to come together, battling mysteries of science and of the soul -- and venturing to a realm beyond reason, beyond faith, perhaps even beyond life and death.
ExcerptThe following is an excerpt from the Book The God Particle: A Novel by Richard CoxPublished by Del Rey; May 2005; $13.95US/$21.00CAN; 0-345-46285-8Copyright &...169; 2005 Richard Cox
Chapter One
Steve isn't stupid.
He can tell by the way she keeps stealing glances at him, by the way shefollows everything he says with squeaky titters, by the gradually shrinkingperimeter of his personal space this afternoon, that Serena wants him.
He's known about her crush for months. Frequent visits to his office with noreal purpose. Hemlines and necklines drifting inexorably toward each other.Projects stretching into evenings, into weekends, into fuzzy, indeterminatehours that find the two of them alone with the soft rumble of the airconditioner and the laboring hip-hop bass signature of her portable CDplayer. Serena is familiar with her product offering, after all, and shemarkets it well.
But Steve isn't stupid. He's withstood her voluptuous body and subtlesignals because sleeping with his administrative assistant would be moretrouble than it's worth, because he's never cheated on a girlfriend in hislife. And if Serena has figured this out by now -- tomorrow they...ll beflying back to L.A. after a full week in Switzerland -- it hasn't stoppedher from making a last-ditch effort this afternoon.
Which is remarkable, considering that he spent his entire morning searchingfor an engagement ring. Up and down the sidewalks of the Bahnhofstrasse,beneath the overcast Zurich sky, weaving between men and women dressed inoutfits that cost more than Serena makes in a month. Around lunchtime hefound a winner, a stunning three-carat solitaire set on a thousand-year-oldband forged somewhere in the Alps to the east, a uniquely European item hepurchased for just under thirty thousand Swiss francs.
The ring is for his girlfriend, Janine. She...ll be waiting for him at LAX inless than twenty-four hours, one expectant face in a field of them beyondthe post...9/11 security checkpoint. A smile and a kiss and aseventy-five-minute drive to Valencia. A dip into the Jacuzzi tub with aSports Illustrated. And a few minutes later she...ll bring him alime-garnished Corona, join him in the tub, and he...ll be waiting with thering.
Serena knows he plans to propose tomorrow evening. She knows because it'sall they...ve been talking about since he met her at the train station andshowed her the ring. He even told her about Lucerne, a beautiful lakesidecity here in Switzerland, where he plans to take Janine for their honeymoonnext summer.
And still Serena casts smoldering glances at him, brushes against his arm alittle too often as they walk along the shadowy Limmat River. She takes hishand as they hurry across the rail tracks, just beating an oncoming commutertrain.
During a life spent pursuing women, predicting their behavior well enough tohave scored more often than most men, Steve still doesn't understand whywomen do what they do. Why is Serena so attracted to a man eight years hersenior, a man with a serious girlfriend? Why is she more attracted as shelistens to him talk about that girlfriend? Perhaps the exotic setting hassomething to do with it, their visit to this ornate and historic Europeancity. The odd warble of police sirens, the constant rush of intercitytrains, the ancient texture of cobblestone streets under their feet. Butit's more likely that Serena's aggression is driven by the overpoweringattraction a woman feels for something denied to her. This isn't the firsttime he's met one who suffers from a fixation on unavailable men.
The two of them pass the train station and make their way toward theNiederdorf, a touristy sliver of Zurich where claustrophobic streets havebeen closed to all but foot traffic, and multilevel buildings advertise allmanner of food and drink and sex. Serena keeps going on about her obsessionwith Italian food, so Steve is directing them toward Santa Lucia, a busyrestaurant with a chef who is a master of masonry-oven pizzas.
Rain begins to splatter the cobblestone street as they push through theNiederdorf crowds. Serena spots Santa Lucia and takes Steve's hand,compelling him to run. With his other hand he pats the side of his overcoat,reassuring himself with the slight and squarish bulk of the ring box, andgroans as he notices a clot of wet and hungry folks in the restaurant'sentryway. He could locate a cab in sixty seconds, after all, and findshelter in the warm, dry bed of his hotel room thirty minutes after that.Instead, he watches as Serena wriggles her way inside, leaving Steve and anelderly Germanic man to brave the rain.
Fifteen minutes later they...re seated in a dark corner of the restaurant.Steve is thoroughly soaked.
...I hope this food is as good as you say,... Serena says. ...I...m starving....
She chatters on while they wait to order, and Steve struggles to guide heraway from the deeper waters of intimate conversation. He reveals theimminent acquisition of a new product database. He asks her opinion aboutmoving the U.S. Web servers to Zurich. Serena responds by asking whether heprefers Merlot or Chianti, but before he can answer she grabs a passingwaiter and orders something that doesn't sound like either one.
...Janine is going to be so surprised,... she says, turning back to him. ...I meanreally. Three carats. She is so lucky....
...Well, it wasn't the size of the stone I was after so much. I was justlooking for something unique....
...I know, silly. But you have to understand girls. Rings are very importantto us. Engagement rings, I mean....
Steve smiles politely. He's not sure what else to say.
...Let me see it,... Serena says.
...Now?...
...Come on. Just a peek....
Steve retrieves the box and places it on the table. He tries not to noticehow dark it is in this corner of the restaurant, how candlelight twinkles inSerena's face as she opens the box and removes the ring. He wishes Janinewere here. He wishes she were sitting across the table from him, twirlingthe ring between her fingers, smiling. He wants to reach out and snatch thering back. He wants to wipe that dreamy smile right off Serena's fleshyface.
Instead she presses the ring against her left hand. ...Do you mind?...
The waiter arrives with their wine, and Serena proceeds to order her entr&...233;e,absently fingering the ring. Steve orders a pizza and glares at her.
...It probably won't fit,... Serena says when the waiter is gone. ...But I justwant to see what it feels like. May I?...
He looks again at the ring. The stone is nearly pure in its color andclarity, a supernova in the candlelight.
...Actually,... he says, ...I...d like to put it back now....
Serena's smile withers. ...Right. Don't want to tarnish the precious ring withmy cooties....
'serena, it makes me nervous to have it out. I paid a lot of money for thatthing....
...Money, money, money. Is that all you ever think about, Steve?...
Predictable as they are, Serena's mood swings constantly amaze him -- fromsunny skies to tornado warning in an instant -- but such volatility has itsplace, and he...d guess (were he interested in such a thing) that she probablymakes love like a monster, probably screams and moans and shouts obscenitiesthat curl paint. But he can't be interested in such a thing, becausetomorrow he&...146;ll be in L.A. with his soon-to-be fianc&...233;e, and any guilt Steveincurs here will undoubtedly follow him all the way home. It will taint thefirst sight of Janine's smiling face and forever color his memory of theproposal. Serena might even tumble off her precarious ledge of good judgmentand fall into the Fatal Attraction abyss.
...Are you going to answer me?... she asks him. Her eyebrows are archedperfectly above heavy liner and green irises. Red lipstick over straightwhite teeth. Her pink tongue dancing--
...I...m sorry, what did you say?...
...Jesus, Steve, are you so lovesick that you can't even listen when I ask youa question?...
...I...m sorry. I...m really tired. What did you say?...
She slides the ring box across the table. ...It doesn't matter....
The waiter arrives with their entr&...233;es, and Serena plows immediately into herspaghetti, washing down every other mouthful with a swallow of wine. Steve'sPizza Dante blisters the roof of his mouth before he finishes the firstbite. Their entire bottle vanishes in minutes, and Serena orders another asshe uses her fork to chase the last orphaned bits of spaghetti around herplate.
...What's the matter?... he asks when the waiter takes away their empty plates.
...Nothing....
...Come on, Serena. You haven't said a word in ten minutes....
...I stopped talking because you weren't listening....
...I said I was sorry,... Steve says.
...Answer my question, then. Is money the only thing you ever think about?...
...Of course not. Money is just a means to an end....
...What end?...
The waiter appears again, and Steve requests the bill.
...Why are you asking for the check?...
'so we can pay. Did you want to stay here all night?...
Excerpted from The God Particle by Richard Cox Copyright &...169; 2005 by RichardCox. Excerpted by permission of Del Rey, a division of Random House, Inc.All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprintedwithout permission in writing from the publisher.
AuthorRichard Cox is the Author of Rift. He grew up in Texas and currently livesin Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he is at work on his next novel. Visit theAuthor's website at www.richardcox.net.
